Traditions and tunes at celebration

But at an event on Friday in the Student Union Building, some brave souls got up in front of about 35 students and sang karaoke to celebrate the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, also known as Tet.

“Karaoke is a typical Vietnamese pastime,” said senior Quincy Pham, president of the Vietnamese Student Association, who helped host the event.

“Many Vietnamese have a karaoke system in their home,” said Pham, while standing in the Gazebo Room decorated with brightly colored paper lanterns.

Students sang songs like “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from the movie Frozen and Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love.” Others played a dice game called bau cua ca cop, which translates to “squash, crab, fish, tiger.”

The holiday is one of the most important in Vietnamese culture and signifies the beginning of spring. Traditionally, families give each other red envelopes with money in them to represent good luck.

They also eat traditional foods, get clothes for the coming year and hold festivals.

Pham invited Seattle University’s VSA to attend the party, and the group got up and sang a karaoke song together.

This is VSA’s first year as a club, and Pham said he’s excited to “talk to students and introduce them to our culture and give them a feel for VSA.”

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